


A Delicate Gift and Precious Memories

by Radiant_Shooketh



Series: Monarchs of the Nightmare Realm [6]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bittersweet, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Post - Delicate Flower sidequest, Post-Dream No More Ending (Hollow Knight)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22284622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Radiant_Shooketh/pseuds/Radiant_Shooketh
Summary: Scarlet and Grimm pay a visit to Dirtmouth to see how things are going.
Relationships: Scarlet & Grimm
Series: Monarchs of the Nightmare Realm [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596868
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	A Delicate Gift and Precious Memories

“Hey, Dad?”

It was one of those days were Scarlet and Grimm were hanging out in her room, taking time to themselves to wind down and relax, enjoying each other’s company in silence. She was glad that he was spending more time with her. Usually, he was always quite busy. These days, he suspiciously waas having more free time. Not that Scarlet was complaining, of course. More time with her dad was always good. He barely turned his head to acknowledge her. Grimm simple closed his eyes and leaned more into her. He also sounded way more tired these days.

“Hmm?” His voice also sounded a little more raspier than usual, Scarlet noticed. 

“...Can you tell me a bit more about my caretaker during the Ritual?” At this, he straightened up. He needed some time to contemplate this. Should he bother to tell Scarlet of their origins? A being born of God and Void, a progeny of the Pale Light and the spawn of a radiant Root. 

“They were a rather interesting individual,” he recalled. “They could not speak, and yet there was something about them that spoke more than words ever could. They were powerful, and regal in their own way.” 

“I recall faint memories of accompanying them around the kingdom,” Scarlet said.

Grimm nodded his head. “That is correct. They were tasked by me to collect flames from their kingdom for you, and they did it with no complaints. Something that I am quite grateful for… They seem to carry the burdens of the kingdom on their shoulders, however. Hallownest has quite a troubling history, especially concerning the Pale King, the Vessels, and the sister of our ancestor, The Radiance… Are you ready to hear such atrocities that eventually lead to the kingdom’s downfall?”

Scarlet nodded her head confidently. “I am.”

“Very well, then. A long time ago just after the Dream and Nightmare realms were split apart, The Radiance created a tribe to worship her; the Moth Tribe. Now fast forward to a Pale Wrym who ended up on the outskirts of Hallownest. He became king and granted the bugs of the kingdom their own minds to think. The Moth tribe turned their back on their creator and She was almost forgotten entirely, at least until some bugs started remembering her. She infected their dreams from the Realm and started a dreadful Infection. To put a stop to it, the Wyrm and his Lady created many Vessels in attempt to find one that was pure and hollow. There were millions of failed attempts and the failed Vessels were thrown into the bottom of the world, locked away from everyone else. He eventually found one deemed to be perfect, and they were proclaimed as The Hollow Knight; the Pure Vessel chosen to seal away The Radiance. They were locked away in the Temple of the Black Egg. Three individuals were chosen to be put under an eternal sleep to forever lock away the Vessel. They were referred to as the Dreamers. Alas, it was all in vain as the Vessel was somehow not as hollow as presumed and The Radiance managed to control them from within and unleash the Infection that eventually destroyed Hallownest. And many years later, the individual who was your caretaker, one of the many failed Vessels who somehow escaped the Abyss, was called back into the kingdom to put a stop to the Infection… Ever since we left Dirtmouth years ago, I do not know of the Vessel’s fate. I wonder how they are doing now.”

“I hope they are okay,” Scarlet said.

“As do I. Out of their creation, they were not allowed to speak, have their own will, or emote at all. But somehow, your caretaker is probably not as hollow as they were created to be, just like the Pure Vessel once was. I do hope they are okay and safe,” Grimm said.

“Can we visit Dirtmouth?” 

Finally, Grimm turned his head to look at Scarlet. All he could see was the determined look in her eyes. She certainly was stubborn and there really was no use arguing with her. “Very well. Let us get going, then.” 

Scarlet and Grimm didn’t need to entire troupe to come along, since there was no Ritual whatsoever going on. So while everyone else remained in the palace, the duo made their way to Dirtmouth. When Grimm and his troupe were here many years ago, the town was empty and nearly fading. Now, there were a lot more bugs roaming around and chatting with one another. Something had definitely happened.  By the iron bench that was still there after all these years, Grimm saw the Elderbug of the town still standing beside it, clutching something white in his hands. When he saw the two approaching him, his eyes lit up with fear.

“Oh no, it’s you.” Elderbug stepped away from them. He eyed them both fearfully, but his eyes fell to Scarlet. “And there's another one of you? What are you doing here?”

As gracious and as polite as he always was, Grimm bowed his head at the Elderbug. “Do not mind us, Sir. We are not here to cause any trouble for you or the citizens here. We simply came to pay a visit to the town.”

Elderbug was as suspicious as always, glaring lightly at Grimm. But then his eyes trailed off to Scarlet. “And I want to assume that this individual here is…?”

“My daughter.” At this statement, Elderbug’s glared lessened. He was quite shocked that this scary man could be a father but appearances can be quite deceiving, he supposed. Anyone who could take up the role of a parent are heroic and selfless, since they would do anything for their child.

“Hmph, very well. As long as you don’t cause any disturbances in town. If you do, I’ll have to report you to the Queen.”

“The Queen? Isn’t the old queen of Hallownest…?” 

“Not the White Lady, no. This young lass… She’s the stepdaughter of Pale King, a fierce protector of these lands. She’s our new Queen of the kingdom.” 

“Ah, I see.” 

Scarlet was quickly getting bored with their conversations and was about to go exploring this little town when her eyes quickly settled onto the white flower that the Elderbug was holding delicately in his hands.

“Excuse me, but where did you get that flower? It’s very beautiful.” 

The Elderbug smiled. “It is, isn’t it? It was a gift from someone quite special, many years ago. A traveller that arrived from the cliffs outside of the kingdom.” 

Scarlet had an idea of whom he may be talking about and politely asked him to tell her a bit more about them.

“The traveller was quite peculiar. They never said much, and carried nothing but a nail on their back. They were a warrior, I believe. They had a fierce and intimidating aura behind those black eyes of theirs and yet despite that, they had a kindness to them that is rare to find in others. They got this flower for me. I waited for them to come back from their perilous journey, but they never returned,” The Elderbug told her. Grimm didn’t say anything and instead listened intently from behind Scarlet.

“Do you know what happened to them?” She asked.

“They didn’t survive their quest, unfortunately. They put an end to the Infection, apparently. Going right to the source of the plague itself, inside the mind of their sibling. It was so unbelievable when the Queen explained it to me. Something about entering their sibling’s mind through a nail that could access dreams and otherworldly realms. Anyway, they defeated the goddess responsible for the demise of the kingdom and saved us all, sacrificing themselves to save what little remains of the dead kingdom. With the few remaining bugs who survived, decided to name Dirtmouth as the new capital of Hallownest. As we speak, the kingdom is slowly making progress of rebuilding. And of course, we have our new monarch of Hallownest. A brave young lady who aided the traveller in stopping the Infection.” 

Scarlet blinked in shock and felt something of sadness weigh on her chest. She couldn’t help it, and let a few years escape. They rolled down from her red eyes and down her cheeks. 

“Little one, are you alright?” Elderbug asked. Scarlet nodded and didn’t reply, though. Grimm put both hands on her shoulders in comfort. 

“If you remember when I first arrived in this town with my troupe, you may have seen a small creature following the traveller around. Well, that small individual was my daughter. The traveller was their caretaker. They had a special bond with each other, you see.”

Elderbug’s face lit up. “Oh, I do remember seeing the little one accompany them at that time. So, that was you? Hmm, not so little anymore, I see. You’ve grown up quite nicely, young one.” 

Scarlet wiped her eyes and managed a small smile. 

“If you want, there is a small memorial in their honour. It was where the Temple of the Black Egg used to be. For some reason after the Infection was stopped, the entire temple seemed to have disappeared. I guess it did that since there is no real use for it anymore. You can go and pay your respects, if you’d like,” he said. 

“Yes, please.” 

Down the well Scarlet and Grimm went into the old kingdom of Hallownest. Just east of the Forgotten Crossroads, there were some bugs already busy with rebuilding of the lands. As they passed by, they got some strange and fearful looks. It wasn’t hard to find the memorial. There was a statue of where the temple used to be. A statue of the traveller, majestic even though they were so tiny, with their pure nail in their right hand. On the statue it read:

  
  


_ Memorial to the Little Ghost _

_ Through the heroic sacrifice of the Knight, Hallownest is saved. _

Scarlet sat down by the feet of the statue in silence for a long time. Grimm watched her for awhile and at some point, walked up beside her and took a seat next to her to also pay his respects. The two didn’t say anything for a long time. Scarlet sighed deeply and cuddled close to Grimm’s cape. He opened his cape and hugged her gently with it. His warmth was indeed comforting. They probably stayed there for about an hour or so in mournful silence. But Grimm could tell that Scarlet was taking this quite hard.

“We should get going, Scarlet.”

“Just a few more minutes. Please?”

“...very well.”

And a few minutes later, they both teleported back to Dirtmouth. 

“Well, we should get going.” Grimm told Elderbug. The old bug seemed less terrified of Grimm now, which was a good sign. 

“Have a safe trip…” And he watched as Grimm lead Scarlet away by the hand. He saw how broken and sad the young child looked and then he looked at the flower. He had an idea. Something to lift her spirits. “Wait a minute!” 

The Elderbug jogged to them, and panted. He presented the flower to Scarlet, who could only look at him with confusion.

“Here, take the flower as a little souvenir. And when you take it, think nothing but good thoughts. Of your caretaker, your bond with them, and your adventures together.” 

“But they gave it to you.” 

“An old bug such as myself has no real use for it. And plus, I’m sure you’ll need it more than me.” 

“...Thank you so much.”

Elderbug bowed his head. “Just be careful with it. It’s quite the delicate little thing.”

Scarlet nodded her head fiercely. “I will.”

As she walked away to prepare for the journey home, Grimm bowed his head again to the old bug. “Thank you, my friend.” Elderbug nodded his head and watched as the duo disappeared in a small puff of red smoke.

Back home, Scarlet found a vase and carefully placed the white flower in it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna say that Scarlet is about 11 or 12 here, if age is even a thing for Higher Beings. For the sake of the story and convenience, we'll go with this XD
> 
> Also, the Nightmare King is slowly turning into a boomer lmfao


End file.
